Commas are NOT for pauses.

[The Man who was Thursday]

I see people saying that commas are for pauses ALL THE TIME 'round here, and nobody ever listens to me when I frantically try to correct them.

This is a grammar guild, so you should know something about grammar, yeah?

The prescriptive grammar you all cherish so much gives less than a s**t about how whatever you say "sounds". Hence, commas are NOT used when there is a "natural pause" in a sentence.

The are used to:

• surround appositives. This is perhaps the reason why people think that they are used for "natural pauses"--generally, you pause before and after an appositive.
  
• separate clauses in
  • compound sentences always.
  • complex sentences if the subordinate clause is first.
  
  
• introduce a sentence with an adverb or adverbial phrase, an interjection, or a vocative.
  
• separate elements of a list.
  
• introduce a quotiation: "She said, 'I should kill Dan.'"

 

[Ame Yuki Kaze]

From MyWord.info:

A word or phrase that clarifies the previous word or phrase and expands meaning. Created to make a statement more clear. Can be set off with commas, dashes or parentheses.

So, some examples of an appositive would be: My dog, a German shepherd, could potentially be a police dog.

"My computer, which was around during the Mesozoic Era, needs more RAM."

In essence, the comma is there not necessarily to pause, but to connect.  

[The Man who was Thursday]

That's.. pretty much what I was saying.  

[limp dick]

I haven't really commented on what the uses for a comma are.
However, I know all that.
Who would use a comma just because of a natural pause? That makes completely no sense.

Can't they also be used for nonessential clauses that come in the middle of other clauses?
Other than that, I can't really think of any other uses for a comma.  

[Raimyah]

Commas... are totally not for pauses.  

[[~~Bakky~~]]

Yami no Hitokiri

From MyWord.info:

A word or phrase that clarifies the previous word or phrase and expands meaning. Created to make a statement more clear. Can be set off with commas, dashes or parentheses.

So, some examples of an appositive would be: My dog, a German shepherd, could potentially be a police dog.

"My computer, which was around during the Mesozoic Era, needs more RAM."

In essence, the comma is there not necessarily to pause, but to connect.

Aha, I wrote a story for grade 10 english assignment, and in it I used dashes to expand on a meaning, like said in your first line, and she said it was wrong. Either that or I shouldn't have used them. I can't remember the exact comment. >.>  

[MyOwnBestCritic]

Commas aren't for pauses, but you pause when there is a comma (if reading aloud). I completely agree with all of your other sentiments, however, because of the horrendous misuse of the comma (especially in leetspeak and txt-tlk).

"Commas rule the world!"
-Mr. Burden  

[Triste]

Commas are overused.  

[Muffin Manic]

I don't really understand what any of you are saying. Could someone explain it too me?  

[cantchangemynameahhdf]

When I'm reading a sentence with commas, I usually put a pause there. Nothing major, but a slight stop in the rhythm of the sentence. The same goes for my writing. However, when I want to make a more noticeable pause or break, I use a semicolon; like just now.

To be quite frank, I can see the overuse of commas as a big deal, but overall I think that it pretty much flows for me; which is saying something, as much as I like proper typing. In other words, I don't share the same dislike of comma use as the rest.  

[Gachetemas]

The reader, not the comma, inserts pauses. Grammar apparently "doesn't give a s**t." But how something sounds is what language is all about. We're very keen on how "s**t" sounds when we read it, either in our minds or aloud. We're sensitive to this "s**t."

Artemis.Dreamseeker

When I'm reading a sentence with commas, I usually put a pause there. Nothing major, but a slight stop in the rhythm of the sentence. The same goes for my writing. However, when I want to make a more noticeable pause or break, I use a semicolon; like just now.

To be quite frank, I can see the overuse of commas as a big deal, but overall I think that it pretty much flows for me; which is saying something, as much as I like proper typing. In other words, I don't share the same dislike of comma use as the rest.

Not to purposefully bash your writing style, but you over-use commas. I like short sentences. You can still write effectively and with detail. You don't need that many commas or semicolons. Just try it. I read On Writing Well by William Zinser and I think it helped.  

[The Man who was Thursday]

Artemis.Dreamseeker

When I'm reading a sentence with commas, I usually put a pause there. Nothing major, but a slight stop in the rhythm of the sentence. The same goes for my writing. However, when I want to make a more noticeable pause or break, I use a semicolon; like just now.

To be quite frank, I can see the overuse of commas as a big deal, but overall I think that it pretty much flows for me; which is saying something, as much as I like proper typing. In other words, I don't share the same dislike of comma use as the rest.

You are doing exactly what I said was wrong. Especially the semicolon bit.

If you pause naturally in speech, it does NOT indicate that you should use a comma. Yes, you usually pause when you read a comma, but that does not mean pause = comma.

Commas are PURELY syntax.  

[limp dick]

Syntax?

The only definition I learned for syntax was the job of a designated word. (e.g. predicate nominitive for a noun that is a complement that restates the subject or direct object for a noun that is recieving the action)  

[The Man who was Thursday]

limp d**k

Syntax?

The only definition I learned for syntax was the job of a designated word. (e.g. predicate nominitive for a noun that is a complement that restates the subject or direct object for a noun that is recieving the action)

Uh.. nope.

Quote:

a. the study of the rules for the formation of grammatical sentences in a language.
b. the study of the patterns of formation of sentences and phrases from words.
c. the rules or patterns so studied: English syntax.
d. a presentation of these: a syntax of English.
e. an instance of these: the syntax of a sentence.

 

[Chaotic Nitemare]

Triste

Commas are overused.

Yes, they are, really, overused.